Healthcare Support Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages High openings flow SOC 31-9091

Dental Assistants

About 52,900 projected annual openings shape how to read Dental Assistants against Occupational Therapy Assistants, Medical Transcriptionists, Massage Therapists, Medical Assistants.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Dental Assistants: Occupational Therapy Assistants ($72K) , Medical Transcriptionists ($40K) , Massage Therapists ($58K) , Medical Assistants ($46K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Dental Assistants publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 31-9091 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Prepare patient, sterilize or disinfect instruments, set up instrument trays, prepare materials, or assist dentist during dental procedures
  2. 2. Record treatment information in patient records
  3. 3. Assist dentist in management of medical or dental emergencies
  4. 4. Order and monitor dental supplies and equipment inventory
  5. 5. Expose dental diagnostic x-rays
  6. 6. Provide postoperative instructions prescribed by dentist
  7. 7. Instruct patients in oral hygiene and plaque control programs
  8. 8. Take and record medical and dental histories and vital signs of patients
  9. 9. Apply protective coating of fluoride to teeth
  10. 10. Schedule appointments, prepare bills and receive payment for dental services, complete insurance forms, and maintain records, manually or…
  11. 11. Make preliminary impressions for study casts and occlusal registrations for mounting study casts
  12. 12. Pour, trim, and polish study casts

Dental Assistants: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 31-9091 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.9
  2. 2. Speaking 3.4
  3. 3. Reading Comprehension 3.3
  4. 4. Active Learning 3.1
  5. 5. Monitoring 3.1
  6. 6. Social Perceptiveness 3.1
  7. 7. Instructing 3.1
  8. 8. Service Orientation 3.1

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.5
  2. 2. Medicine and Dentistry 4.4
  3. 3. English Language 3.8
  4. 4. Administration and Management 3.5
  5. 5. Administrative 3.5
  6. 6. Computers and Electronics 3.3
Projected annual openings
52,900
growth + transfers + exits
National median $48,070/yr
$48K
National median
↑ +6%
Growth 2024-2034
387,790
Estimated US jobs
Occupational Therapy Assistants
Highest-pay peer · $72K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Postsecondary nondegree award

Top Paying States for Dental Assistants

1. Alaska $57,710
2. Massachusetts $57,980
3. North Dakota $57,770
4. Connecticut $56,850
5. Oregon $59,490
6. Washington $58,090
7. Maine $60,070
8. Minnesota $65,270
9. New Hampshire $59,530
10. District of Columbia $60,580

Other Healthcare Support Occupations titles

  1. 1. Medical Transcriptionists $40,410
  2. 2. Massage Therapists $58,450
  3. 3. Medical Assistants $45,690
  4. 4. Occupational Therapy Assistants $72,300
  5. 5. Nursing Assistants $42,260
  6. 6. Medical Equipment Preparers $47,700

Roughly 52,900 projected annual openings (growth, transfers, exits) are the scale signal for Dental Assistants. Median pay is $48,070 in Healthcare Support Occupations.

Employment Projections expect +6% change between 2024 and 2034 (faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Alaska at $57,710. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Occupational Therapy Assistants at $72,300. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Dental Assistants pay-rank #5 in Healthcare Support Occupations

Among 17 detailed Healthcare Support Occupations with a published OEWS median, Dental Assistants is pay-rank #5, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 31-9091 · national median $48,070 · upper third of Healthcare Support Occupations (#5/17). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Dental Assistants salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 31-9091

Alaska · top state for Dental Assistants

$58K published median

Massachusetts · #2 state pay

$58K · behind Alaska

Occupational Therapy Assistants

Highest-pay peer vs Dental Assistants · $72K

Medical Transcriptionists

Lower-pay peer beside Dental Assistants · $40K

Compare Dental Assistants

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Dental Assistants with another occupation →

Openings and labor-flow next reads

Most Openings Rankings

Labor-flow scale across occupations

Compare openings side-by-side

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which Healthcare Support Occupations titles sit near Dental Assistants at the top of the pay table? ▼
Dental Assistants is pay-rank #5 of 17 detailed Healthcare Support Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Healthcare Support Workers, All Other ($48K), Medical Equipment Preparers ($48K), Massage Therapists ($58K), Physical Therapist Assistants ($68K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do dental assistants do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Dental Assistants. Leading ones include: Prepare patient, sterilize or disinfect instruments, set up instrument trays, prepare materials, or assist dentist during dental procedures; Record treatment information in patient records; Assist dentist in management of medical or dental emergencies; Order and monitor dental supplies and equipment inventory. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for dental assistants? ▼
For SOC 31-9091, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.9), Speaking (3.4), Reading Comprehension (3.3), Active Learning (3.1). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, Medicine and Dentistry, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Dental Assistants? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $48,070 as the national median for Dental Assistants. The published 10th-90th range is $37,130 to $62,250. Beside Occupational Therapy Assistants ($72,300), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Dental Assistants? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Dental Assistants is +6%. Projected annual openings: about 52,900. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: faster than average.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Dental Assistants? ▼
Alaska ($57,710), Massachusetts ($57,980), North Dakota ($57,770) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Dental Assistants card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 31-9091. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Dental Assistants. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics